Real Monsters
by Madman007
Summary: In an AU, the daughter of Luke and Mara swears she sees a monster during the night. Is it real, or in her dreams?


**Real Monsters**

**Time:** An AU version of six years after the Thrawn crisis. This is set in an AU setting, but with a dash of canon included.

**Characters:** Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, See Threepio, Emelia Jade Skywalker

"Daddy!" Emelia Jade Skywalker cried from her bed in the darkness.

Instantly, the door to her bedroom slid open and in stumbled her father, Luke Skywalker. He was still groggy from suddenly waking up from her call in the middle of the night. He went to his daughter anyway. "What is it, honey? Are you all right?." He almost yawned the question out.

The little five-year-old started explaining in a high-pitched version of her mother's voice. "There were noises, daddy. They were scary. It's a monster coming to eat me up."

He sat on the side of her bed next to her and said, "Oh, honey, there are no monsters here. Me and your mommy don't allow monsters in our house."

"But...but it was, daddy. It was a monster. It was at my door."

"It was?"

"Yeah, and I could hear it breathing and it made a lot of noise and...and ...and it was coming for me."

"Aw, hon, are you sure it wasn't a dream?"

Emelia crinkled her brow in confusion. "I don't think so. It was really real."

Luke smiled and replied, "That may be, hun, but sometimes a dream can seem very real. So real that you might think it's actually happening."

Emelia's eyes lit up in awe of her father. "Really?"

"Yes. Now, what do you say we try sleeping again?"

"But...what if the noises come back?"

"Then don't want them back. Think of happy things."

Emelia exclaimed excitedly, "Like you and mommy?"

"Exactly. Can you try that for me?"

"Ok, daddy. Can Thweepeeo sit by my door tonight?"

Luke mumbled, "Now, _that_ would scare anyone."

"Huh?"

Luke shook off the comment off and said to her, "Nothing, honey. I think Threepio has shut down for the night. It's only you, me, mommy, and him in the house tonight. Ok?"

"Ok." She yawned. "What are you still doing here, daddy. I want to go to sleep now."

Luke grinned and uttered, "Yes, you are Mara Jade's daughter."

"Is that bad?"

Luke reached to her small forehead to brush back a strand of strawberry blonde hair out of her hazel eyes. Already, her head was on the pillow and she was fading back into slumber. He softly whispered in her ear, "No, sweetie. It's a very good thing. Good night."

There was no answer as Emelia Jade surrendered to sleep. Luke got up gently and quietly left the room after he turned off the lights and shut the door. He returned to his bedroom where his wife was sleeping. Or, half sleeping.

"What was it?" Mara Jade Skywalker mumbled into her pillow.

"It was a dream. She said she heard noises at her door and that a monster is after her."

"That can't be true. Palpatine has been dead for over a decade."

"I know. I was there." He climbed into bed next to his wife and he curled his arm under her waist. He muttered in jest, "Maybe it's the Emperor's ghost?"

Mara sighed. "And Lo and Behold, the Skywalker imagination. It must have been all those quiet nights in the Tatooine desert as a kid."

Luke replied, "I'm just saying, he's got several reasons to haunt both of us."

"Go to sleep, Farmboy."

"Yes, dear."

**The next night**

The scream coming from Emelia's bedroom was more than enough to make both Luke and Mara spring out of their bed and run towards their daughter. Mara reached her first and quickly made note that the bedroom door had already been opened. Emelia was sitting up in bed with tear stains but not fully crying. Her face was white with fear.

Mara hugged her and asked, "Sweetie, what happened?"

Emelia sobbed out, "The monster...he came...he told me I was going to die....and he went away."

Luke answered from behind still standing by her bed, "Honey, I told you there are no monsters."

Emelia screamed back, "Yes, there was! He came through the door. It opened."

Luke went to the door to examine it."

His wife asked, "Anything?"

"Nothing I can see. No forced entry. No circuits fried. It could have shorted out from the inside."

Just then, the golden shape of See-Threepio appeared in the doorway. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I detected a commotion. Is everything all right?"

"It's ok, Threepio. Emelia had a bad dream."

"Oh dear, oh dear. Is there something I can do, sir?"

"I know we're going to have to run a diagnostic on this door in the morning. Other than that, I can't think of anything."

Mara added, "Threepio, can you get some water for Emelia?"

"Of course, Miss Jade." The droid turned and moved swiftly.

Mara uttered, "He can really move now."

Luke stopped inspecting the door and stood by his wife and daughter. "Yes, that mission to Tanaab really took its toll on his joints. All of those rocks and trees don't sit well with a protocol droid."

"We should have taken Artoo."

"It definitely would have been quieter."

"Hey! Listen to me!," cried their daughter. "I did _not_ have a dream. I really, really saw something."

Luke mumbled, "A chip off the old Jade."

His wife gave him an evil eye and then addressed Emelia. "Did you really see something, sweetheart?"

"Hmm hmmm. And it wasn't a dream. The monster was here. And he said I was going to die."

Luke sat on the end of the bed and asked, "What did the monster look like, honey?"

"Well...he was big and shiny....and he had red eyes."

"And he was here? In this room?" Mara asked.

Emelia nodded.

Luke kept on. "Are you sure it was real, Emelia? Remember what I said last night about dreams."

"I wemember."

"It was dark in here before, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"So, how can you be sure you saw it, honey?"

Emelia wore a blank face as she couldn't answer.

Mara rolled her eyes at her husband. "That's it, Skywalker, let's use logic on a five-year-old." She faced Emelia and announced, "Sweetie, if you saw the monster, I believe you. But, as you can see, he's gone now. See? Nobody here but us"

Emelia hesitated to say, "C...can Thweepeeo stay with me tonight?"

Luke answered, "Honey, I don't think Threepio would be good for that."

Mara eyed her husband and smirked. "I have a better idea. Since your father is so convinced that you saw that monster only in your dream, why don't we let him guard your room tonight?"

Emelia's eyes lit up. "Yes! Yes, daddy, pleeeease?"

Luke gave his grinning wife a look. "Ok, I'll stay with you tonight."

"Goodie! Thank you, daddy. You can have this side, cuz you have to chase that bad monster away if he comes back."

"Well, maybe when he sees me near you he won't come back."

Threepio came in with a small cup in hand and he scooted across the floor to Emelia so he could hand it to her. "Here you are, Miss Emelia."

"Tanks, Thweepeeo."

The droid gave a mechanical sigh. "I wish you were able to say my name correctly. I could tutor you again on proper pronunciations of Basic words."

"That's ok. I like saying Thweepeeo."

"Suit yourself, I suppose."

Luke decided to ask, "Threepio, do you detect anything else in the house but us?"

"Why, no, sir. I can safely say we are quite alone here."

"See Emelia? Just us."

Emelia gave a sour expression that he had seen many times on her mother. "He was real, daddy."

Luke gave a defeating sigh and said, "Ok, ok. That's why I'll stay with you tonight."

Threepio suggested, "Should I call for extra security, Master Luke?"

Mara stepped in and said, "I don't think that will be necessary, Threepio. I think Luke can handle this phantom monster."

"Very well," Threepio answered. "If it's not too much trouble then, I would like to shut down for the rest of the night."

Luke commented, "Still feeling the effects of Tanaab?"

"Oh, yes, Master Luke. Most dreadful terrain. My joints had never been through so much strain. Well, there was all those times in the Tatooine desert. All that sand is treacherous on my joints and knee couplings. Then again, sand is not like a rocky surface. Much harder than sand. Sand can get into my linear oil tube and I am at the risk of freezing joints. I dare say–"

Mara interrupted, "You had to get him started?"

Luke just shrugged.

"I am sorry, Miss Mara. I shall go now and start my shut down for the night." Threepio left the room.

Luke glanced at his daughter sideways. "You sure you don't want Threepio to guard you?"

Emelia seemed to consider it and then said, "No, that's all right. I don't think I'll ever sleep with Thweepeeo in the room."

The two adults started laughing for a bit and then Mara said, "Ok, off to bed with you now. Both of you. I'll be in the other room if you need me, ok?"

"Ok, Mommy."

Mara came closer to her husband and he wrapped his arm around her waist. She told him, "That goes for you too. If you see any monsters, make sure you come and get me."

"Will do." They closed in on each others lips. Before they could enjoy each others touch, they were interrupted by their daughter.

"Ewww...do you have to do that in front of me? I'm only five."

Luke muttered before Mara, "Five going on twenty."

"Yes, she has a wonderful mix of my maturity and the lack of yours." She smiled too sweetly.

"Good night, Mara."

**Several hours later**

Emelia had fallen asleep in no time with Luke laying beside her. As per his daughter's request, he left the bedroom door open. Luke himself had gone in and out of consciousness. He stayed in that stream for quite awhile.

Until he heard it.

It wasn't loud. It was noticeable. He felt within the Force and there was nothing there that shouldn't have been. The sound continued. It was almost like a faint hissing. Luke's mind went to his daughter's words the other night.

_I could hear it breathing and it made a lot of noise._

He couldn't tell its source from his current position. He lifted himself off the bed carefully. He shuffled his stocking feet across the carpet and into the hallway. The sound was louder. It was an eerie sound in combination with the pure silence in the house. He walked down the hallway and stopped at the maintenance room where Threepio stood dormant. This was the source. Luke neared the still form of Threepio. The hissing was coming from under the droid's gold plating. Luke shrugged it off as a ventilation valve letting off excess air.

Satisfied at figuring out the puzzle, Luke suddenly felt thirsty. He proceeded to the kitchen and then into the refridge unit to pull out a pitcher of azure milk. He gulped down a small glass which brought back memories of his childhood days on Tatooine when his Aunt Beru would be waiting with a glass full after a hard days work on the moisture vaporators . He replaced the pitcher and casually went back down the hall. He passed by the maintenance room and something caught his eye.

Threepio was gone.

Luke entered the room. "Threepio," he called out softly.

No answer.

He called out again. And was again answered in silence.

He went back out into the hall.

The blunt force to his forehead was hard enough to knock him to the floor and see stars. Luke tried to focus to see...the monster.

He _was_ shiny. He _did_ have red eyes. The problem was...it was his own droid.

"Threepio?" Luke cried out.

"Die, Jedi, die!" was the droid's only reply. The voice from the vocabulator was not Threepio's. It was too deep. Too hard. Too sinister. In addition, Threepio's usual yellow glowing eyes were now a deep fluorescent red. He repeated again loudly, "Die, Jedi, die." He started to come forward towards Luke, who was still sprawled on the floor. This was a side of Threepio Luke had never seen.

The sound of Threepio's new voice was loud enough to wake Emelia. She yelled from her bedroom, "Daddy! He's back! The monster's here! Daddy, where are you?"

The hit he took from Threepio's arm still stung enough that he couldn't see straight. He also couldn't speak loudly either. He could feel blood trickling down his head. He could hear and feel Emelia's confusion and fear as she got herself out of bed and scurried into the hallway. Right in front of Threepio.

Emelia then screamed as loud as she could. Upon hearing her, Threepio did a quick about face and then headed towards the girl. He repeated, "Die, Jedi, die!"

"Daddy, it's the monster. It's the...it's...Thweepeeo?"

Threepio kept coming at her. Luke began to see again and he went into the Force to focus on the killswitch of the back of Threepio's head. He found it and used the Force to depress it. Threepio stopped in mid-sentence. "Die Jed–" His glowing red eyes went dark. He was still once again.

The door to the master bedroom slid open and out sprung Mara. "What in the _kriff_ is happening out here?"

Emelia looked up at her mother and said, "Thweepeeo was bad."

**The next day**

After several hours of taking Threepio apart and analyzing the problem, Ghent finally called Luke into the maintenance room. "I found it. Sort of."

Luke, complete with a bacta patch on his head, entered the room and asked, "What do you mean 'sort of'?"

Ghent laid down an old piece of wire on the counter. "This was the culprit."

Luke looked at it bewildered. "One wire?"

"Ah, but this is a special wire. One that's always been there but never activated. Until his last maintenance check."

"How's that?"

"Read the letters on the wire closer."

Luke picked it up and read, "TF Series BDA-22100. What's TF?"

"Exactly what I asked. I researched it. What do you think of when I say, Trade Federation."

"Neimoidians. But, the Trade Federation was dissolved not long after the Clone Wars if my history memory serves."

"That's right."

"So, how did this piece of wire get inside Threepio?"

"I have no idea. But, I have a theory."

"I thought you might."

"The Neimoidians controlled the old Battle Droids. Look. BDA. I think Threepio's frame was part of that and maybe he was a prototype of some kind."

"What? He's a protocol droid."

"Maybe he wasn't always one. We would never be able to tell what his original programming was. Another thing I noticed in his design on the inside was that it doesn't seem manufactured."

"Not from an a assembly line?"

"Like he was homemade."

"Where did you find this wire?"

"Along his powerbus linkage cables. It wasn't bound with them. It was loose. Almost like something was cut off or detached. Like a different style head. When this was triggered it set off more power to his circuits. That made his ventilation valve work overtime, which is what you said you heard. Something during his latest overhaul triggered this sporadically."

"Why were his eyes red?"

"That's standard programming for a protocol. He has infrared capability. Threepio probably never has a chance to use it."

"He kept saying, die, _Jedi_, die."

"Maybe it was part of the Battle Droid programming."

"Why would ancient Battle Droids know the term 'Jedi'?"

"I see where you're going. The unofficial rumor that the Trade Federation inadvertently started the Clone Wars. Sorry, but I don't think there's enough proof for that."

"Didn't think there was. But, it's very interesting to think about. To think I thought I knew all I could about Threepio."

"Yeah, this wire has to be at least fifty years old."

"He's ok now?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. Just an old glitch."

"Well, that glitch scared my daughter. He won't have a memory of this, right?"

"No. I can skip that circuit so he won't remember it."

"Wish Emelia could do the same."

"Unfortunately, humans can't skip circuits. He must have opened the door last night, right?"

"Looks that way. He would have the codes. Well, let's get him back together. Mara will be coming home soon from taking Emelia out for remedy shopping. Don't want her to see him this way."

"Good idea."

**Later that night**

Luke was tucking his daughter in her bed when she started in with more questions about Threepio.

"So, Thweepeeo was sick?"

"More or less. He had a malfunction."

"What's a mawfunckshun, daddy?"

"Threepio had a boo boo."

"Oh. He got better, right daddy?"

"Yes, he did."

"So, there's no more monsters?"

"None."

Luke kissed his daughter on the forehead and was about to turn out the lights and leave, but Emelia stopped him. She the asked one of the questions he had dreaded to answer.

"Daddy...are there real monsters?"

Luke considered his words when he answered back, "Only the ones we create ourselves, sweetie. Good night." He turned out the light and she lay on her pillow and went to sleep peacefully.

**THE END**


End file.
